Chapter 315: The Fundamental Treasure

The five figures flew close to the slowly rising mountain.

"We can't go up the mountain," Zhenwu King said. His domain tried to penetrate it. "The primordial purple qi protects this great mountain. Until it dissipates, we cannot approach." Zhenwu King looked at Meng Chuan. "Junior Brother Meng, you should have a portable miniature grotto-heaven with you, right?"

"Yes," Meng Chuan nodded, not denying it.

Anhai King was startled. A portable miniature grotto-heaven was incredibly precious. Crafting one required not only immense power but also rare treasures! The "five hundred million merit points" set for Meng Chuan was already a preferential price, typically reserved for one's own disciples. Five hundred million merit points? That was a substantial amount even for Zhenwu King and Anhai King. They wouldn't indulge in acquiring a 'grotto-heaven pearl,' which offered no direct benefit to their strength. For mere storage, Zhenwu King used a 'void bracelet,' which contained a thousand miles of void space and could only store inanimate objects, but it was cheap, costing only thirty million merit points. The true value of grotto-heaven treasures lay in their ability to sustain life and foster propagation, as they contained world power.

"The fourth-level demon kings of the demon race, who infiltrated the human world, are said to be hiding within a miniature grotto-heaven. Does Senior Brother Meng also have one?" Yan Chitong asked excitedly.

"A miniature grotto-heaven?" Xue Feng looked at Meng Chuan. Meng Chuan was too mysterious; how could he possess such a treasure?

"Neither Zhenwu King nor I have a miniature grotto-heaven, so how does Meng Chuan have one?" Anhai King wondered silently. "Did he acquire it through a miraculous encounter, or was it bestowed by Yuanchu Mountain? If Yuanchu Mountain truly bestowed it... there must be a special reason." Miniature grotto-heavens were typically owned by sects. Even during great migrations, when populations and food supplies needed to be transported, they were only temporarily granted to a particular King-level Godfiend for use. As for selling them? Who could truly afford one?

"Three Junior Brothers," Zhenwu King said, looking at Meng Chuan, Yan Chitong, and Xue Feng, "Primordial treasures are even more important than 'temporal ice floes.' Yuanchu Mountain urgently needs them! This struggle for the primordial treasure might be intense. To protect you three, Anhai King and I won't be able to unleash our full power. Therefore, it's best for all three of you to hide inside a miniature grotto-heaven; that would be the safest."

"Alright," Meng Chuan, Yan Chitong, and Xue Feng all nodded in agreement.

"Junior Brother Meng should stay and help us," Anhai King interjected. "His speed is far greater than ours. When seizing treasures... speed is crucial. The moment the primordial treasure appears, we must acquire it as quickly as possible."

Zhenwu King hesitated for a moment but had to admit that Anhai King made a valid point. Meng Chuan's speed was incomparably faster than theirs.

"Junior Brother Meng..." Zhenwu King looked at Meng Chuan.

"Yuanchu Mountain urgently needs this primordial treasure, so I will naturally do my utmost," Meng Chuan said with a smile.

"Very well. Don't stray too far from me. As long as you're within ten zhang of me, I guarantee your safety," Zhenwu King said.

Meng Chuan smiled. "Then I'll have to trouble you, Senior Brother." His own life-saving abilities were not poor, but with Zhenwu King present, he naturally felt more secure.

"Don't resist, you two," Meng Chuan said, looking at Xue Feng and Yan Chitong. "I'll take you into the grotto-heaven."

"Okay," Xue Feng and Yan Chitong replied, both still somewhat curious. Meng Chuan waved his hand, and Xue Feng and Yan Chitong were then transported inside by the grotto-heaven pearl's world power.

"We'll wait here," Zhenwu King said. "The moment this primordial purple qi dissipates, we will immediately move to seize the treasure."

"Senior Brothers, what makes this primordial treasure so valuable?" Meng Chuan inquired.

Zhenwu King smiled. "Primordial treasures form only when a world is born, containing a portion of the 'world's origin' power. Our human world has long since lost such treasures. Even within the River of Spacetime, it's incredibly difficult to acquire a single primordial treasure."

"Contains the power of the world's origin?" Meng Chuan mused thoughtfully.

"Your miniature grotto-heaven contains world power precisely because it possesses a grotto-heaven origin," Zhenwu King explained. "And our entire human world also has a world origin. It's the true foundation of the world, from which all things grow. It has countless uses. Anhai King and I entered the World Gap with primordial treasures as our primary objective."

"Such treasures also help us win this war," Anhai King added, considering they would soon be fighting side by side.

"Understood," Meng Chuan nodded.

"The demon race is here," Zhenwu King said, looking into the distance. "And they seem quite arrogant."

"Arrogant?" Meng Chuan and Anhai King hadn't noticed yet.

A moment later, they saw a black line appear on the distant horizon. As it drew closer... it revealed itself to be a vast black tide. The black tide rolled in. Although still quite far away, Meng Chuan felt an inexplicable dread as he gazed at the gloomy black tide. The black tide stretched for hundreds of miles, sweeping majestically, and within it, two figures stood side by side: one was a black-robed, dragon-headed old man, and the other was a horned demon king with red scales.

"Poison Dragon Ancestor and Blood Asura?" Anhai King's pupils contracted.

"Those two?" Meng Chuan was also startled.

The demon race had far more fifth-level demon kings than the human race had King-level Godfiends. Among them, five were the most prominent, possessing at least the strength to rival a demon saint. Poison Dragon Ancestor and Blood Asura were both on that list.

"Blood Asura doesn't cultivate the demon king system but rather the 'Asura system' from beyond the world," Zhenwu King said, his tone much more serious. "His physical body is incredibly powerful, and he's terrifying in close combat. He once fought a demon saint head-on without falling behind. Poison Dragon Ancestor is even more formidable. Although his body is aging and he cannot become a demon saint, his realm has reached that level. He has also used an exotic treasure from beyond the world to cultivate his physical body into a black water venom pool, with no weaknesses. Every drop of black water is incredibly poisonous. He once transformed into the 'black water venom pool' to trap and corrode a demon saint, forcing the demon saint to flee." Zhenwu King continued, "Among the demon race, only two fifth-level demon kings have managed to defeat a demon saint of a higher rank, and Poison Dragon Ancestor is one of them."

Although Meng Chuan had also received intelligence on the fifth-level demon kings, he clearly didn't know as much as Zhenwu King and the others.

"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—"

The extremely poisonous black tide permeated the surroundings, also enveloping the mountain. It naturally corroded Zhenwu King's domain, revealing Meng Chuan, Zhenwu King, and Anhai King.

"Hm?" Poison Dragon Ancestor and Blood Asura were also surprised to see them.

"It's Zhenwu King and Anhai King of the human race," Poison Dragon Ancestor said. "Both of them possess strength comparable to a demon saint."

"If we can kill them, we kill them. If not, we tie them down first, seize the treasure, and then leave," Blood Asura said.

"Understood," Poison Dragon Ancestor nodded. Within the World Gap, they were confident enough to face any human.

As the two sides met, both knew the other was not to be trifled with.

"Godfiends of Yuanchu Mountain," Poison Dragon Ancestor said, standing amidst the hundreds of miles of black tide, his voice booming across the heavens and earth, "Just three months ago, I encountered Molten Fire King and White Jade King from Black Sand Grotto-Heaven. Their life-saving abilities were quite good, allowing them to escape with their lives. This time, I'd like to see if you Godfiends of Yuanchu Mountain can get away."

"What big talk," Anhai King scoffed, a cold glint in his eyes.

"Youngster, you've only cultivated for a little over a hundred years. You should be more humble," Poison Dragon Ancestor chuckled. Beside him, Blood Asura remained calm and expressionless.

"Youngster?" Anhai King's eyes narrowed. How proud he was! To be called a 'youngster' by a demon king?